Emma Raducanu’s breathtaking Wimbledon debut continued as the teenager shocked Sorana Cirstea to become the youngest British woman to reach the last 16 in the Open Era.
The British game has known Raducanu as a known talent for many years. She had already swept past qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko and former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova and reached the third round without dropping a set.
The 18-year-old stayed put in school to complete her A levels in maths and economics, only finishing a couple of months ago. By playing on the biggest stage of her career so far on Court One, she has impressively handled the occasion.
She took on the world No 45, who knocked out Victoria Azarenka in the previous round. Raducanu produced a sparkling attacking display, fighting spirit and tenacity, claiming the win on her third match point.
Raducanu said in her on-court interview: “Honestly, I am so speechless right now, at the end I didn’t know what my reaction would be if I won and that just happened, I am so so grateful for all the support I had today. Who would have thought, it is funny because at the start when I was packing to come into the bubble, my parents were like, ‘Aren’t you packing too many sets of match kit?’.”
“I think I am going to have to do some laundry tonight, but I think they have a laundry service at the hotel, so I am all good,” he added.
